Maintainers with the 39th Logistic Readiness Squadron at Incirlik AB, Turkey, are resorting to an old refueling technique—last used there a decade ago—that minimizes equipment wear and tear, saves maintenance time, and affords pilots more training time. The technique, called “hot pitting,” calls for fuels airmen to refuel an aircraft while its engines are running. The maintainers are applying the method to F-16s newly arrived for a training exercise from the 22nd Fighter Squadron at Spangdahlem AB, Germany.
A single-pallet-sized tactical operations center is slated to begin shipping to 70 Air Force units by the end of the year following a recent announcement by the company that made it and the Air Force entity responsible for its development.
